ARE BOOK ADAPTATIONS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA?

The Girl on The Train the latest book to movie adaptation on the block failed to thrill us like its book counterpart. But why didn’t Rachel’s voyeuristic alcoholic ways and Meghan’s trapped wild-spirit capture our minds on the big screen?

Why is it that out of all the recent book to movie adaptations only a handful of them made an impact and reached up to the level of its book counterpart?

There are many examples of successful book to movie adaptations, but to each successful one there are 10 unsuccessful ones.

Where Harry Potter and Lord of the Ring made a mark in the world of cinema and on the minds of all the fans, movies like The Maze Runner, Allegiant failed to make you feel anything, except maybe pity.

It’s not that only a good book can be adapted into a good movie, a good book is necessary yes, but a good script is imperative. The Godfather for example, an exceptional book, is an even more extraordinary movie.

There are obviously some pros and cons to book to movie adaptations, let’s take a look:

Books!

Movies!

· You get the Full Story.

· You get the full story, without the unnecessary parts.

· You can imagine the character exactly the way you like him/her.

· Gives the character a face.

· Reaches the targeted audience.

· Reaches a larger audience

· Let’s you imagine the world it takes place in.

· Gives you a glimpse of the world.

· All characters add their own different charm to the story

· Some characters are omitted from the storyline! (Looking at you Harry Potter, we wanted Peeves!)

But what about the look and the feel?

Can you describe how it feels to smell a new book? Your anticipation to watch the new movie adapted from your favourite book?

The world is firmly divided into 2 types of people, people who think the book was better, and people who think the movie was better.

A booklover can tell you a characters past, present and future, shoot all your claims down that the movie had all the important parts required for the story, but that is the difference between these two types of people! A booklover won’t mind sitting for an 8 hour movie if it claims to include every little thing in the book, whereas the second type of people won’t find it practical. It’s a thin line, a very conscious divide and an eternal battle.

But the bottom line will always be the same, if you adapt a book right, it will unite these two types of people. If you don’t the battle will forever rage on.